Review - Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

I've been blowing stuff up in Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction on the PS3 for the better part of the past three days and now I am ready to share my thoughts on the game with you. Is the series getting stale? Is it worthy of a PS3 exclusive? Most importantly, will it give those not yet invested in this generation of consoles a reason to go out and buy a Sony console that just happens to play Blu-Ray movies?

My first thought when starting the game was that I found it to be more graphically impressive than I expected. Yes, I know it's a Playstation 3 game, but what little I had seen of it in commercials and online hadn't left me drooling or anything. The lighting and particle effects are excellent, and with a ton of objects on screen at once, the frame rate rarely dips, and never enough to be any kind of hindrance to game play.

The cut scenes are truly laugh-out-loud funny. The writing is top notch; worthy of anything Pixar has put out in theaters.

The game's fundamental game play mechanic is using outlandish weapons to destroy all the little (and large) minions on your way to a boss battle at the end of each level. Certain weapons are only effective against specific foes, and learning the combinations is the difference between being an apocalyptic warrior or a grease spot. There are some puzzles thrown in for good measure as well as some mini games, ranging from a "hacking" game similar to the one found in Bioshock, only instead of using tubes filled with water, R&CFTOD has you moving a metallic ball on a motherboard to make electrical connections. The most notable mini games involve rail grinding while avoiding obstacles and enemies and some flying ones that actually play out as semi boss battles themselves. There is usually a pattern to be learned for each boss, and once you've gotten it down, beating them is fairly simply.

In fact, simplicity is probably my only real gripe with the game. Most of your weapons are so grossly over-powered that defeating even the toughest bosses is child's play. That's not all bad as it keeps the story moving forward and gives you the opportunity to view another hilarious cut scene.

All in all, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction has been a pleasure to play and an excellent diversion from the darker and more "adult themed" games I often play, such as Call of Duty 4 and the like.

I highly recommend it for anyone who owns a PS3, and for those that don't, it's not a bad reason to get one!